Working in the travel industry, I have an opportunity and obligation to see the world. Though most of my travels last only a day or two at a time, I manage to swig an espresso (or three) and get on with the party. Follow me as I shamelessly devour the foods of the land, (over)indulge in the local beer and wine, and discover new cities with old friends.
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Saturday, April 28, 2012

No sooner we showered our bodies of the smoky Korean BBQ
remnants back at the hotel, we hopped in a cab and hauled it to Itaewon for the
party scene. We got dropped off in the midst of it all. Bars, clubs, karaoke,
etc. From the street level, we saw a balcony filled with people and loud music
playing. We went inside to discover it was one group of people sitting at a
long table having dinner and the rest of the bar was empty. Not a soul to be
found. We quickly found this to be the theme of the night. Where are all the
Seoulful people on this Wednesday night?? As we walked down the strip of bars,
it seemed the louder the music blasted outside, the emptier it was inside. We
finally settled at a lounge called S2 for some soju and beer. Soju is a Korean
spirit made from sweet potatoes. I find it a mix between sake and vodka.

Cass beer and Soju

Down
one bottle of soju and a round of beers, we moved on to an Irish pub, then took
another taxi to the Grand Hyatt. We heard about the nightly live music at the
upscale hotel, and that’s exactly what we found. The drinks were expensive, but
we stayed for a round because this was by far the most popular bar of the
night. The American band was set up on a small stage behind the main bar,
covering top 40 pop music. The crowd was a mixture of Americans and Koreans. Overall,
the people were either grinding up on each other after a few too many
cocktails, smoking, dancing on couches, or singing along with the music. This
is the kind of action I like to watch. When the band called it a night, so did
we.

Live music

Dancing on tables

We left the Grand Hyatt and took to the streets of Itaewon for some more
soju. At the convenience store, it costs $1.50 per bottle, which is about the
size of a beer bottle. We drank some out on the street while soaking in the
culture of Seoul nightlife. A few homeless people, groups of friends bar
hopping, butch ‘women’ sitting on stoops underneath signs that read ‘Trans’. We
weren’t exactly model American tourists at this point, seeing as we were
drinking on the street, but there was clearly more action out there than in the
bars. After we finished our people-watching and soju-sipping, we got some
snacks and called it a night.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

We randomly selected a restaurant for some Korean BBQ. This one was called
the New Village Restaurant, full of people, loud, and chaotic. A woman sat
our party of 5 at a rather small round table by American standards. At the
center of the table was a pit with coals, ready for some grill action. The
staff spoke no English so we tried our luck with pointing to menu pictures of
meats and beers to get started. We drank Cass beer and made sure to pour it for
each other and never for ourselves. That’s the Korean way, never pour your own
drink!

When our sassy waitress came back with a tray of raw kalbi, she
scattered the meat over the grill and lowered the fan, attempting to consume
all the smoke. While the meat was cooking on the grill with whole garlic
cloves and jalapenos, we investigated our side dishes. A basket of lettuce cups
and raw cabbage, kimchi, rice, scallions, and a few dipping sauces. There were
no plates, and it was strictly chopsticks only to maneuver large chunks of meat
and cabbage. I tried to eat each lettuce wrap in one bite despite the mess I
was making of the table and myself.

The
next meat to hit the grill was beef
bulgogi. This was marinated beef and less fatty than the kalbi. By the
end of
the meal I was entering yet another food coma. On the way out, I notice
another group leaving. The waitress returned their jackets that were set
aside
in plastic bags to avoid smoky fumes.
Very smart. It’s a shame I didn’t know of this custom. Next time in
Seoul I will make note of it, but for tonight, I will roam the streets and bar
hop smelling like garlic and beef bulgogi!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Thanks to obsessively researching what to do and, more importantly, what to eat
in Seoul, I found some particularly salivating street food options.
Before my trip to South Korea, I read up on spiral ‘tornado’ chips on a
stick, hot dogs deep-fried in a french-fry-swarmed batter, waffle cones
stuffed with spicy chicken spaghetti, etc. Seoul has a blossoming foodie
scene. Returning home, I did more research to find out how I missed
these magical treats. Apparently I skipped that particular street in the
Myeongdong district. Sadly, my 36-hour trip to Seoul did not present
those fabulous options to me, but If I When I go back to Seoul, I will be sure to do a strict foodie tour to find these street snacks....

My
first choice was the dumplings. They were already prepared, then
steamed in front of me. One kind was fried and spicy. The others were
mild with vegetables. One special dumpling contained a wiry black hair. I
ate around it put that one aside because I’m a classy lady. At
another stand I watched as a man stirred sesame seeds into a giant wok
of boiling caramelized sugar. The contents were rolled out onto a
cooking sheet and cut into pieces. Once it cooled down it was a sweet,
chewy snack. I bought a bag that was made with sesame, black sesame, and
pumpkin seeds. Before dinner, I saw a vendor selling some kind of fried
deliciousness on a stick. This was my calling. It was some kind of
vegetable dough deep fried with a strip of bacon on it. It was so greasy
I felt oil seeping from the sides when I bit it. It was a bit much for
me, so I was content after about two bites.

Steaming dumplings

Me and the people making the sesame bars

Fried vegetable dough

Overall, I am very happy with my street food options in Seoul. I am determined to go back for some spaghetti cones and fry-crusted corn dogs in the future. It's good to have foodie goals!

Friday, April 13, 2012

This is not your childhood ice cream shop. They add an eccentric touch to traditional ice cream creations. Their specialty, The Salty Pimp, is very simple: vanilla ice cream, dulce de leche, sea salt, chocolate dipped. The other treat I tasted was the Cococone: vanilla ice cream with toasted curried coconut. Both were outstanding, but I especially have a soft spot for The Salty Pimp. The publicity from being on various food and travel shows certainly is helping, as the line was out the door at 9PM on a Thursday in April. The décor was all rainbows and unicorns just as I had hoped. Once May rolls around, keep an eye out for the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck roaming the streets of NYC. There are too many wild flavors and toppings such as olive oil, bacon marmalade, and cayenne pepper, to only stop here once.

A Moroccan/Spanish/Caribbean
tapas bar. At least that’s how I explain it. I had a GiltCity voucher to use on
two glasses of sangria and four tapas. We wound up with six tapas but decided
the four would’ve been filling enough if we chose to stop there. Not a bad deal
for $30! The guacamole had pineapple in it and the plantain chips to dip in it
were crispy and salty. Then we had spinach and manchego empanadas, fried goat
cheese balls with slivered almonds and honey, and sweet plantains with manchego
and Serrano ham. It was certainly enough food for us, but it’s not like me to
stop at ‘enough’. To conclude the meal we got the short ribs, and the lamb with
couscous. Both were phenomenal! The portions were small for sharing, and the
combination created a tasty buffet on my plate. I would go back to Ventanas
again because it’s humble enough to reside in the Meatpacking District without
charging cover at the door. And don’t forget, on the weekends they have rotating
DJ’s and eight bartenders on staff to prevent any unwanted thirst.

Friday, April 6, 2012

I have been obsessed with Korean
BBQ ever since I recently tried it for the first time at Kang Suh in NYC’s
Korea Town. Since it’s open 24 hours I get cravings at all hours of the night.

Pork Belly, Kalbi, Kimchi, and Garlic

My first time, I got Kalbi (short
ribs), pork belly, and tongue. It’s cooked by the server on the tabletop grill.
Also on the grill was garlic, jalapenos, and kimchi. The meats are complemented
by several small side dishes: kimchi, shredded potato, jalapenos, onions,
zucchini, rice, dipping sauces, etc. All of which can be mixed and matched,
then put into a lettuce cup. We also got a cold buckwheat noodle soup called Naeng Myun with beef, egg, and pear. It was an unusual experience sipping on ice-cold broth, but it still
tasted very good. To wash down all this food, I enjoyed hot sake, Hite
Korean beer, and Sapporo Japanese beer.

Various side dishes

Naeng Myun

Hot Sake and Sapporo

On other visits I tried the
staple Korean dish, bibimbap. It consists of a bowl of warm rice with mixed
seasonal vegetables on top, and a cracked egg. Then chili pepper paste is added
and everything gets stirred together for a delicious rice mixture.

Bibimbap before

Bibimbap after

If you ever get the chance, stop
in to Kang Suh. The staff is very welcoming and willing to explain the process to
newcomers. It’s worth a visit for lunch, dinner, or even a 4AM post-bar snack.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Otto’s was the first to come up on my Google search when
looking for tiki bars in New York City. Therefore, I had to try it. Located
between “East Side 99 Cent Store” and the elegantly trash-bag-chic “Rainbow”
clothing dump, was this neon-lit sign calling me in for a mid-day zombie.

The décor was beachy, tacky, neon, and creepy. I loved it. The walls had
giant Hawaiian prints hanging, with neon blowfish lighting over the bar. PBR’s
are always $3, and there’s a lengthy happy hour running 2-8PM, but I sprung for the $10 tiki drink. The menu had several different cocktails, each served in a
different glass. It’s an additional $5 deposit for the funky glass because,
well, I guess people try to steal at Otto’s. Anyway, $10 plus a $5 deposit
later, I got the house specialty, Otto’s Shrunken Head. “Dark and sweet with a little
bite. Keeps ya head screwed on tight”. It was everything I could’ve asked
for in a tiki drink: rummy, coconutty, fruity. And that's my professional critique. I also tried Otto’s Octane. “Our pineapple rum, coffee liquer, and
banana concoction will help speed you to your destination”. This was not as
good as the other one but still got the job done.

Eventually, I would like to try each of the tiki drinks on
the menu. But let’s face it, unless I am in the area on a “Rainbow” shopping
spree, I don’t see how I will stumble across Otto’s again. The location was
strange for me, so unless I make the conscious decision to revisit, I'll never drink
from that shrunken head again. Okay I'll go back, but I will be taking the tiki glasses home with me!

About Me

I am Jack Of All Travels, blogging about my travels around the world. I am pushing 30, looking for life experience, and hoping to do it all on a budget (I'm poor). All I really want is feedback from the locals to steer me in the right direction. If that direction happens to be towards a bowl of century old eggs (China), cow intestines (Italy), or kangaroo jerky (Australia), I will politely indulge in the local delicacy. Then, I will promptly wash it down with a pitcher of sangria, fishbowl of jungle juice, carafe of the house red, or whatever adult bev is in arms reach. Life, give me this experience, and in return I will blog about my fond travel memories in which you can judge me forever!